Goals vs. Next Steps: The way to actually reach your goals

byCourtney KingonDecember 31, 2014

Simple and important advice to help you actually reach your GOALS:

A lot of us are thinking right now about resolutions, goals, and changes we’d like to make for this brand spankin new year. Self improvement is a beautiful thing, but a lot of us get tripped up by one simple mistake – we confuse the goal with the next step!
What that means is that if your goal is to run a half-marathon this year, then the question I would ask you is “What is your next step?”
AND THEN FOCUS ONLY ON THAT NEXT STEP.
Maybe that next step is to buy some new running shoes. Great! Do that!
And then, what is your next step?
Now you decide the next steps is to take your shiny new kicks for a fun run at the park. Great! Now focus on making that happen.
And what’s your next step?

Keep choosing and fulfilling these next steps and over time I promise you will reach your goal!

The flip side – you focus on the half-marathon (the goal) so much that you neglect to see all of the baby steps it takes to get there. Also, until you actually run the half-marathon, everything you do up to that point goes un-celebrated. It’s all just a means to one end.

Think of the same scenario with losing weight/getting in shape. If your goal is to lose 15 pounds, how many of you have focused on the end goal so much that you beat yourself up the entire way there or you thought that the 5 pounds you have lost aren’t good enough? That is a really common example of the trap of focusing on the goal instead of next steps.

Keep it simple – 1. Set a goal. 2. Follow your next steps 3. Mission Accomplished!
This process will get you to your finish line and you will have accomplished so many victories along the way.